Facing Fear with Faith
Psalm 34:4
“I sought the LORD, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.”
As a child growing up there were several occasions in which my grandmother, my mom’s mother, would come and live with us. I am told that in her younger years she lived a vibrant and happy life. Apparently as a young adult, she had many friends, was the life of the party and loved being around people. But to be honest with you, that is not how I remember my grandmother. The person I knew was quiet, insecure and fearful. As I understand it, after the death of my grandfather, she drifted into a life of seclusion, isolation and fear. In fact, the grandmother I knew was so fearful that when home alone, she would not go outside and many days stayed in her bedroom with the doors locked until my mom came home from work. Why? She lived a life overwhelmed by fear.
There is not one of us who at some point has not had to face the enemy of fear. And the impact of those fears is nearly unpredictable. David Jeremiah, Pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in California, calls fear the “tyrant of the imagination.” For some it causes people to sleep for hours and days and then leads them into depression. For some it causes attacks of anxiety and leaves them debilitated.
Fear has no limits. Normal people, famous people, lost people and, yes, even saved people must deal with fear. Even some of the great Christ followers of the New Testament struggled with fear. You might remember that in II Timothy 1:7 the apostle Paul wrote to a young pastor named Timothy and told him that “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and discipline.”
Fear wants to take us prisoner and that is exactly what happened to David in today’s Psalm. At the beginning of Psalm 34 you will find an inscription that is part of the inspired text of scripture. This is not some editor’s note; it is part of God’s Word. Notice what it says, “A Psalm of David when he feigned madness before Abimelech, who drove him away and he departed.”
The story of what happened is found in I Samuel 21 – 22 and is the context of Psalm 34. David, the anointed King of Israel, is a fugitive on the run. He is being chased by King Saul and he is afraid. David arrives at a place called Nob where he meets a priest by the name of Abimelech. Out of fear, David lies to the priest as to why he is there and then deceives the priest into getting supplies. While at Nob, one of Saul’s men notices David and with that, fear takes a tighter grip on him. David, now aware that his identity has been compromised, goes to Achish, the King of the Philistines. Would you believe that these are the same Philistines who David fought years before when he defeated Goliath? They are enemies of Israel and God, and David was seeking their help. David pretends to be insane, and is eventually cast away. It is a low point in David’s life. He is afraid, he is doubting God, and he deceives God’s people. Then David finds himself in a cave, alone and growing more afraid. Here is this great man of God, this anointed King of Israel, a fugitive on the run and living caught in the grip of fear.
Fear will make us do things and take us places that God never intended. And let’s be sure we understand something important - God does not want us to live in fear. One of my favorite Bible verses is Isaiah 41:10, “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” If you are facing fear today, remember that the opposite of fear is faith. God does not want us to live in fear; He wants us to live in faith! With that in mind, here are a few principles to practice when facing fear.
Bless the Lord
In Psalm 34:1 the Bible says “I will bless the Lord at all times.” The word bless here means an act of adoration. The first way to overcome fear is to replace fear with praise, worship and adoration. Did you know that blessing God, giving God worship and praise, will chase away fear? Fear accentuates that thing for which we are afraid. Fear will take the issue you are struggling with, no matter how great or small it actually is, and will always give it a greater place than it actually should have. In fact, fear will take some small hill and turn it into a great mountain.
But when I take the time to bless the Lord, I realize that there is nothing greater, more powerful, or more significant than Jesus Christ. And so that fear, no matter how great it is, can be chased away by blessing and praising God.
Verse 2 says “My soul will make it boast in the Lord.” The word “boast” means “to make a show” and “to shine.” Simply put, fear makes whatever it is that is making me afraid “to show and to shine.” But when I boast in the Lord, I am making Jesus show and I am making Jesus shine. And that chases all my fears away. So first, bless the Lord. Make the name of Jesus shine instead of your fear.
Seek the Lord
Not only should we bless the Lord, we should also seek the Lord. Verse 4 says, “I sought the Lord and He heard me.” Then in vs. 10 David said, “But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.” To face my fear, I must not only praise God, I must seek God. Why is this important?
When we find ourselves caught in the grip of fear, we begin to look for any and every way out. We look to other people for help, counsel from others, or a pathway of escape. And there really is nothing wrong with doing all we can to eliminate fear. But here is the real issue. Often we find ourselves seeking anything or anyone to solve the issue, when we really need to seek God alone, the One who is our help, our counsel and our way of escape.
Do you know what you find when you seek God? You find the goodness of God! Verse 8 says, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” When I seek the Lord, then I see the goodness of God. I realize that God loves me and doesn’t want me caught in fear. He wants to show me His goodness.
Listen to the Lord
In verse 11 the Bible says, “Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.” In verses 11 – 14 there are at least 3 benefits to listening.
Listening to God teaches me to revere Him alone
Listening to God shuts my mouth
Listening to God causes me to seek and pursue peace
Are you listening to the screams of fear or listening for the voice of God? Are you listening to the anxiety, the depression, the fear? Or are you listening for the still, small voice of God Himself?
Call unto the Lord
Sometimes when I am overcome by fear, I find myself in a panic, sometimes even moved emotionally to a point of unsteadiness. But God will not abandon me. God has not turned a deaf ear to me. And God will not abandon you; God will not disappoint you and God will not leave you. In verse 17 the Bible says, “the righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.”
When we call on the Lord, we admit our total inadequacy and inability to resolve the matter on our own. It is a full recognition of my inability to help myself and a full recognition of my total dependence on God.
So today, if you find yourself facing fear, call on the Lord in faith. He will hear and He will answer.
Trust in the Lord
Verse 22 says, “And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.” Fear of a circumstance or a person is a picture of displaced trust. That fear that haunts us and challenges us becomes the thing that rules our trust and our belief. When fear comes into my life, I find myself under the rule and dominance of that fear. I find myself submitting to that fear and it controls me.
That is why I am charged to trust in the Lord. When we trust, we submit to His guidance. And that brings us to faith. Fear is the opposite of faith.
I encourage you today to put away fear; it is a tyrant attempting to terrorize us. Trust God alone. He loves you and “causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28